Sunday, May 15, 2016

Anthology Markets

If you've just wandered in off the internet, hi and welcome. :) I do these posts every month, so if this post isn't dated in the same month you're in, click here to make sure you're seeing the most recent one.

Markets with specific deadlines are listed first, "Until Filled" markets (if any) are at the bottom. There are usually more details on the original site; always click through and read the full guidelines before submitting. Note that some publishers list multiple guidelines on one page, so after you click through you might have to scroll a bit.

Note that Ghosts on Drugs has pushed its deadline back again, this time to 1 October, although there's an "or until filled" caveat attached.

Note that The Binge-Watching Cure is open until December, but they're only taking one story of each specified length, and one of the categories is filled already, so if you want to sub to them, do so ASAP.

Theme: This speculative fiction anthology contains original stories to celebrate Asian diversity, featuring an Asian main character, Asian setting and/or some amount of Asian elements, by authors with an Asian heritage.

We consider Asian countries as those defined by United Nations in Wikipedia. Authors do not need to reside in Asia to participate in this anthology.

We welcome translated story from other languages to English (no English reprints, please).

Proposed Anthology: We are looking for stories to celebrate character diversity (ethnic, age, walks of life/socio-economics, sexuality, etc.). We leave the question as to what determine Asian theme open so not to restrict creativity. No stereotypes or clichéd portrayal of cultures or stories based purely on showing the strangeness or exoticism of a culture. No erotica. Cross-genre is encouraged. This anthology is geared towards Young Adult and Adult.

Project Objectives:

== A portion of Laksa Media’s net revenue from this anthology will go directly to support Kids Help Phone.
== Laksa Media will donate CAN$500 upon the publication of this anthology to Kids Help Phone.
Submission Guidelines:

Length: <7,000 words
File Format: .doc, .docx, or .rtf only
Use Submittable to submit your story for this anthology (DO NOT USE the Laksa Media online submission form).

No reprints: No simultaneous submissions: No multiple submissions.

We want to have a balance between science fiction and fantasy, with at least 50% science fiction.
However, anthology editors tend to receive more fantasy than science fiction submissions. Therefore, we encourage more science fiction stories of all varieties (space opera, time-travel thrillers, interesting new approaches to classic themes, near-future technology, techno-thrillers, science mystery, Asian-punk) because, for an ethno-cultural based anthology, they would help to mitigate the Orientalism that influences Western perceptions of cultures east of Constantinople.
Our media is already filled with mystical gurus, genies, and kung-fu monks. We are not saying our anthology has no room for fantasy-based stories, but we are saying that we need to expand the perception and show that Asians do know science and engineering, that they’re not just mystics with magical powers.

We are happy to accept fantasy-related fiction, but we are prioritizing the reading of the SF submissions.

UPDATE (February 15, 2016): Since our submissions call was announced, our submissions have been skewing heavily towards fantasy with little science fiction. We want to have a balance between fantasy and science fiction, at least 50/50. Therefore, we encourage more submissions of science fiction. A weak story of either genre will not be published, but a strong science fiction story currently has a greater chance of being accepted than a strong fantasy story. We will continue to accept fantasy stories.

Please use standard manuscript format! No strange or extremely small fonts!

We encourage submissions to feature the following:

== Protagonists with diverse experiences including (but not limited to) QUILTBAG, gender diversity, neuro-diverse, mentally ill, people with disability, chronic illness and other impairments, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities, any marginalized and under-represented group.
== Speculative fiction from or about diverse perspectives and traditionally under-represented groups, settings, and cultures, written from a non-exoticizing and well-researched position. Any political issues should be addressed in complex and nuanced ways, resisting the temptation to oversimplify or stereotyping the situations.

Reading Period (open for submission): December 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016

Advance Payment to Contributors: Contributors will be paid CAN 6 cents per word. The payment is an advance against royalties. A contributor’s copy is included. Payment will be on acceptance of final edited story.

Rights: First World Rights for anthology in the English-language. Exclusive rights prior to publication and for a period of one year after the publication and non-exclusive rights for the anthology thereafter where the contributors are free to resell. Exception to the exclusive rights is when the story is accepted for a “best of the year” anthology.

All rights granted will revert to the Author if Laksa Media fails to publish the Work within 24 months of the date of the signed Agreement (between anthologists/editors and authors).

Much like the award-winning anthology Steampunk World, Steampunk Universe will be a multicultural anthology of steampunk stories. But this time, the anthology will focus on characters who do not identify as abled or neurotypical.

This call for submissions is aimed particularly at marginalized writers, especially those who are identify as members of a minority, LGBTQ, and particularly those themselves who do not identify as abled or neurotypical.

Stories are due by June 1, 2016 to steampunkuniverseantho@gmail.com. Ideally, decisions will be made by July 1, and the anthology will be crowdfunded shortly thereafter. Writers will be paid $.06/word for original stories. I’m not looking for reprints at this time. Deadline extensions will not be granted. Your story should be submitted in Standard Manuscript Format (please check and double-check that your name and email address are on the first page!) as an email attachment in .doc, .docx or .rtf format. The subject of your message should read [Submission: Story Title by Author Name]. If your submission doesn’t conform to these specifications it may be deleted unread.

What I’m looking for:

Your story should take place in a non-White and preferably non-Anglophone culture.

Your story should contain and have as a focus a character with at least one disability. It should be a major element of the story. I want to explore how steampunk technology changes the lives of people who are aneurotypical or disabled, for better or for worse. I’d love to see characters who are also members of other marginalized groups (such as LGBTQ characters).

Your story should contain steampunk elements. I get a lot of submissions with steampunk exoskeletons and dirigibles, but not many with spaceships or submarines. I’d really like authors to stretch themselves and instead of just writing alternate history, set the story in a parallel universe or on another planet. Read Tobias Buckell’s excellent story "Love Comes to Abyssal City" for an example.

I have already committed to stories taking place in North America, England, and China. While we may commit to more stories featuring other cultures in those regions, we strongly encourage you to explore stories that take place in the diverse cultures of Central/South America, Asia, and Africa.

I have likewise committed to stories with prosthetic limbs, steam-powered hearts, and blindness. While I may commit to another story with those elements, we strongly encourage you to explore other possibilities.

I’m unlikely to buy stories that:

Feature a disability as a superpower, such as the trope of the autistic super-detective.

Involve the protagonist bravely sacrificing himself/herself at the end of the story so the able/neurotypical characters can survive (seriously, this is becoming a cliché)

Are longer than 5,000 words (bonus points if you can keep it under 4,000)

Contain graphic sex or violence, rape, women in refrigerators, etc. If the content of your story means you wouldn’t be comfortable reading it to your eleven-year-old, don’t submit it to me.

Have only magical elements and no technological ones. I love a good gaslamp fantasy, but this is not the market for it. I want gadgets and goggles!

The fastest way to get responses to questions is on Twitter. Questions may be directed to @steampunkpanda or @AlliterationInk. The best way to tell what kind of story I am likely to buy is to read Steampunk World.

***

1 June 2016 -- The Shell Game -- ed. Kim Adrian; University of Nebraska Press

PAYMENT: $100, plus two copies of anthology, plus $100 coupon to UNP Books
RIGHTS: Permission to publish (right to include work in book, ebook, and translations of the book). Author retains all other rights.

CALL FOR MANUSCRIPTS

Within the recent explosion of creative nonfiction, a curious new sub-genre is quietly emerging. Hybrids in the truest sense, "hermit crab" essays borrow their structures from ordinary, extra-literary sources (a recipe, a police report, a pack of cards, an obituary…) to use as a framework for a lyric meditation on the chosen subject. In the best examples, the borrowed structures are less contrived than inevitable, managing not only to give shape to the work but to illuminate and exemplify its subject. Here are a couple of great examples of the form:

Submissions are open for an anthology of essays of this type, to be published by the University of Nebraska Press in 2018. Seeking brand new work (not previously published). Word count between 750 and 8,000. No plain-jane listicles, please (confused about what constitutes a listicle? See this article). However, if you have a fancy-jane listicle (meaning: if you are doing something really thoughtful with the form), please feel free send it on. Simultaneous submissions okay, but please notify of acceptance elsewhere as soon as possible. Questions? Contact the editor at: kimadrian115 [@] gmail [.] com

Writers! We want your stories and poems for Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk & Eco-Speculation, the upcoming anthology of speculative fiction edited by us, Phoebe Wagner and Brontë Wieland, set for publication in spring 2017.

We want this anthology to reach outside Western and Anglophone traditions of speculative fiction, showcasing the way environment and environmental issues are talked about and perceived in all parts of the world. We encourage and welcome submissions from diverse voices and under-represented populations, including, but not limited to, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, those with disabilities, and the elderly. Authors of all walks of life should feel encouraged to send us stories and poems celebrating these diverse characters and settings all around us.

What are we looking for?

We want short stories and poems that fall under the scope of speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, magical realism, weird fic, etc.). If you’re unsure, submit! We love to be surprised.

The anthology will focus on times of environmental crisis and the people inhabiting these tipping points, fighting to effect change and seek solutions, even if it’s already too late. But these are times of hope, not just disaster! Turn your lens to those crucial moments in a world’s history when great change can be made by the right people with the right tools. Remember: hope can spark in even the grimmest of situations.

What is solarpunk?

Solarpunk follows in the tradition of steampunk and cyberpunk as the embodiment of a counterculture ideology: innovating a way of life that is better for the present and ultimately better for the future. Concepts like clean energy and sustainability are integral to solarpunk as they are outlets for societal reform. The fight for positive change is where -punk comes into play.

There are various communities online that are imagining and building solarpunk as an idea and an aesthetic, but as a literary movement, it is as yet largely undefined. That’s where you come in. Sunvault is the SF community’s opportunity to define the solarpunk genre. We want to see your conceptions and interpretations of the genre. We want to see what solarpunk looks like to you.

Length & Payment:

We’re looking for short stories from 500 to 7500 words. Don’t query about longer pieces. We want to include as many stories as possible in the anthology, so we aren’t able to consider longer works. All authors will be paid 6 cents USD per word upon publication for original fiction.

We are also open for reprint submissions. Reprints are paid a flat rate of $50 for stories under 2000 words and $100 for stories over 2000 words. Please include a complete publication history for reprint submissions.

For poetry, we are looking for original, unpublished poems up to 200 lines or 500 words for prose poems. Please submit only up to five poems. All authors will be paid either 6 cents USD per word or 15 dollars per page, whichever is greater. Payment will be made upon publication.

We will accept submissions from any country.

Translations:

Translations are welcome. Please include proof that you have the permission of the original author to translate and submit the story, and provide the original author’s contact details as well as your own. Payment will be split equally between the translator and the author. If this is the first publication of the story in English, even if it has appeared in its original language in print, we will pay the rate for original work.

How to submit:

Submissions will open as soon as our Kickstarter is fully funded and run for approximately a month. Send your story or poems to us at sunvaultanthology[at]gmail.com with the subject like Fiction Submission: Title or Poetry Submission: Title for originals. For short story reprints, please put Reprint Submission: Title in the subject line. We will not be accepting poetry reprints. Submit translations as original pieces (if previously unpublished in English), but be clear that it is a translation in the body of your message. Please submit all poems in one document.

If the format is wrong, your work may end up in our spam folder, so be diligent. We will only read files sent as .doc, .docx, .odt, or .rtf.

Include a cover letter in the body of your email to tell us a bit about who you are. Please mention if it is a story or poems, the length, any relevant info we should know about the story or poems, and an author’s bio. Do not describe your story or poems in the cover letter.

We will accept simultaneous submissions, but if accepted, the piece must be withdrawn from submissions elsewhere. You may only submit one story during the reading period.

A keystone is a central stone at the summit of an arch locking the whole together. It's something on which other things depend for support, the heart or core of something, the crux, or central principle. Anything keystone is fine, be it keystone species, pipelines, cops, beer, or ski resorts, as long as it's speculative fiction.

Third Flatiron Publishing is based in Boulder, Colorado, and Ayr, Scotland. We are looking for submissions to our quarterly themed anthologies. Our focus is on science fiction and fantasy and anthropological fiction. We want tightly plotted tales in out-of-the-ordinary scenarios. Light horror is acceptable, provided it fits the theme.

Please send us short stories that revolve around age-old questions and have something illuminating to tell us as human beings. Fantastical situations and creatures, exciting dialog, irony, mild horror, and wry humor are all welcome. Stories should be between 1,500 and 3,000 words. Inquire if longer.

Role models for the type of fiction we want include Kurt Vonnegut, Arthur C. Clarke, Dan Simmons, Connie Willis, Vernor Vinge, and Ken Kesey. We want to showcase some of the best new shorts available today.

See the "Submissions" tab for preferred formats, etc.

For each anthology, we will also accept a few very short humor pieces on the order of the "Shouts and Murmurs" feature in The New Yorker Magazine (600 words or so). These can be written from a first-person perspective or can be mini-essays that tell people what they ought to do, how to do something better, or explain why something is like it is, humorously. An SF/Fantasy bent is preferred.

Your story must be original work, with the digital rights unencumbered. Accepted stories will be paid at the flat rate of 3 cents per word (U.S.), in return for the first publication rights to the story for six months after publication. All other rights will remain with the author. We no longer offer royalties. If your story is selected as the lead story, beginning July 1, 2014, we will pay a flat rate of 6 cents per word (SFWA professional rate), in return for the permission to podcast or give the story away as a free sample portion of the anthology. We also pay SFWA members 6 cents per word. You do not need to be a SFWA member to submit work. We welcome new writers.

TANSTAAAFL Press has an open call for short stories for the “Enter the…” series of anthologies.

Guidelines:

1. We will only accept those stories emailed as text in the email OR .txt, .doc, .docx formats.
a. All attachements will be destroyed if not accepted.
b. Email address is submissions@tanstaaflpress.com

2. We will not accept stories by mail or post. If we receive these they will be destroyed at once.

3. All stories must be original and unpublished anywhere
a. If accepted TANSTAAFL Press will take first english publication rights.
==Note that reprint rights are yours as are first publication in alternate languages, however the value of reprints is low as are the likelihood of getting anyone to reprint.
==This publication is likely the only location where you will likely be paid for this piece.

4. Stories must be less than 8000 words.

5. Stories considered for Enter the Apocalypse must be stories about the start and / or middle of any type apocalypse.
a. Apocalypse can include (but isn’t limited to) nuclear, epidemic, supernatural, bioweapon, cosmic, aliens, etc.

6. Stories considered for Enter the Aftermath must be stories about the burnout or shortly after any type apocalypse.

7. Stories considered for Enter the Rebirth must be stories about the world coming back to a new stability after any type of apocalypse.

8. TANSTAAFL Press will attempt to get to submissions as quickly as possible, but make no commitment to how quickly.

9. We will accept submissions up until June 15, 2016 for Enter the Apocalypse, Sept 15, 2016 for Enter the Aftermath, and Dec 15, 2016 for Enter the Rebirth.

10. TANSTAAFL Press will respond to all submissions which follow our guidelines.

Payments / Renumeration

The Enter… series will pay for each story used in the range of $0.01-0.08 per word (averaging close to $0.03 per word). People who have stories for each of the works accepted with the same world will receive a boost on each consecutive story. An example: Say TANSTAAFL thinks your work is worth 3c per word on your story in …Apocalypse. Then you submit a story from the same world to …Aftermath. Assuming it is accepted you would get 3.5c per word on that story.

TANSTAAFL Press will pay upon the finalization of three criteria:
1. Acceptance of your edited work
a. This means if there are changes requested that they have been completed.

2. Signed contract with TANSTAAFL Press for publication of this work
a. Come see our tentative contract. It hasn’t been fully vetted but it will be close.

3. All works for publication have been accepted and signed.
a. That is, we will pay you when we have the full manuscript in hand.
b. You will not have to wait for TANSTAAFL Press to actually publish.

[NOTE: The way I read the "Payment / Remuneration" section, it sounds like they're going to eyeball each story they've decided to accept and just sort of... figure out...? how much they want to pay for it, between one and eight cents per word. That sounds kind of squirrely to me, but I decided to post this anyway and let you all decide whether to sub or not. Note that if you have a personal minimum you'll work for, and it's not a penny per word, you can submit, and if they decide they want your story, you can look at their offer and then accept or reject it based on the payment (or anything else) as always. Remember, it's not a committment until you've signed the contract. I hope the TANSTAAFL folks have taken this into consideration when building their schedule.]

Sanguine Press is currently open for submissions to our first anthology, Transitions & Awakenings.

THEME: I Regret Nothing

Too many characters spend their time brooding about the past, whether it’s missed opportunities or mistakes that led to misfortune down the line. For our first anthology, we want your stories with at least one character who has no regrets – either for a specific moment, or in general. Your story must feature a predominantly POC cast to be considered.

GENRES: Sci-fi, Fantasy, or Horror (no poetry, please)

STORY LENGTH: For this anthology, we’re looking for original, short fiction up to 10,000 words. While we’ll read a piece that’s slightly longer, we will absolutely not consider any story over 12,000 words. Your story must be complete within the stated word count – no serials or other multi-part pieces.

PAY: We pay .10/word for the first 1,000 words, .05/word for the next 5,000 words and .03/word after that.

CONTRACT OVERVIEW: Our contract covers the right to publish your story within our digital and print anthology, as well as online at Sanguine Press for paying members. We ask for exclusive rights for one year, and non-exclusive after that. A full contract will be provided upon acceptance into the anthology.

NO MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: Please only send us one story at a time, and wait for a response before sending another. We’re excited to get to read your work, but as a two-person team we have to do all we can to give as many authors as possible a fair chance to be read.

NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: If you decide to submit to another publisher, please send us a note and withdraw your submission here, first. We ask this only because of time constraints, and this policy may change in the future when our staff expands.

NO PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORKS We’re thrilled to have published authors submit their work for consideration! But please, no work that has already been published elsewhere.

We solemnly swear we will respond to you whether your work is accepted or not, but please give us at least 2 (two) months to read and get back to you. If you haven’t heard from us by then, by all means, send us a note to see what’s up. We know that’s a long time to wait, and we thank you for being so patient with us!

Bestselling author Hy Bender (BookProposal.net; 16 books including 5 Dummies books, a Complete Idiot's Guide, and The Sandman Companion; The New York Times, Mad Magazine) and book developer Will Paoletto (Enterprise Cometh; My Bad Parent) are putting together a short story fiction anthology titled Ghosts on Drugs.

And we're inviting you to send us a story so great that we can't resist saying "yes" to it.

The only rule is that a tale include some version of at least one ghost who's on some version of at least one drug.

And both key terms are broadly defined—e.g., a ghostwriter hooked on cough syrup could fit, and a dead ancient god with an inhumanly intense craving to be worshipped again could too.

Also, a story can run anywhere from 2 pages to 30 pages, so a short-short tale that's a solid fit for the collection will definitely be considered.

We expect many of the stories will be a mix of comedy and fantasy. However, the book is also open to horror, SF, adventure, drama, etc., as well as any combination of genres. Whatever the category, we're seeking stories that are extremely entertaining, appeal to a wide-ranging audience (high concepts are especially appreciated), and provide an emotionally satisfying ending (smartly crafted character arcs/transformations are especially appreciated).

We're aiming to include some of the world's top comedians, a bunch of superb writers, and one or two celebrities who happen to be drug fans.

Some of the advantages of being in this anthology:

== Getting a credit for a book that's likely to receive substantial attention because of its cool high concept, wildly inventive range of ideas, and exceptionally fine writing.
== Having your name alongside other impressive celebrity talents (if you're a star) or taking a helpful step on your career path (if you're not a star yet).
== Receiving payment on our acceptance—15 cents a word for the first 2,500 words and 6 cents a word after that (to encourage tight writing).
== Receiving a share of the royalties (based on word count).
== Working with Hy—a world-class editor—to make your story the very best it can be.
== Fun!

If the above sounds appealing, then please feel highly encouraged to submit material. The initial deadline is March 1st, 2016. (This might get extended, or not, depending on what comes in.)

For the sake of saving you time and effort, we recommend running an idea by Hy first to ensure it isn't redundant with something we've already purchased for the collection. However, if you prefer to just write and send us a complete story, that's great too.

Please send anything related to the anthology to Hy Bender at hy@hyreviews.com.

How do you cure your Netflix (or Amazon, Google movie, or Hulu) addiction and return to your first love, reading books? You know you want to read more. You know you enjoy reading. You know you look forward to finishing a book because then you can start a new adventure.

But how? How do you get into reading when the siren call of streaming movies becomes more powerful every year? A three-hundred page novel is daunting in the face of Netflix and friends’ wonders. It’s too easy to put on pajamas, pour a glass of wine, and offer your eyes to a TV, tablet, or computer screen until sleep summons you.

Enter The Binge-Watching Cure: Fabulous Stories that Start Small and Grow Longer, edited by Bill Adler Jr. The Binge-Watching Cure will be an anthology of short stories of increasing size. The first story will be 100 words—anyone can read that. The next, 200 words. Then 500, then longer, all the way to novella length. By the time you’ve finished reading The Binge-Watching Cure, you’ll be able to tackle Joyce and Pynchon. Or at the very least, you’ll enjoy novels you hear about from friends and family. The Binge-Watching Cure will reignite your love for reading; it will better your life.

Just as you enter a cold swimming pool one body part at a time, get used to drinking beer sip by foamy sip, or learn to enjoy spicy food in little, fiery nibbles, The Binge-Watching Cure gradually acclimates you to reading longer and longer stories, until a novel-length book goes down smoothly, tasting sweet, and making you want more.We want your writing.

We’re looking for stellar stories of various lengths for The Binge-Watching Cure. The stories must have strong characters and compelling plots. Genre fiction is okay because great fiction often crosses the genre barrier. No erotica and no stories with excessive violence. Please see our FAQ for more about what we’re looking for.

We pay $200 for short stories that are under 5,000 words and $500 for stories that are 5,000 words or longer. We will be licensing the non-exclusive print and electronic book rights, including foreign-language rights (but not audio, film rights, or magazine rights). Your name and bio will be included along with your story. Contributors also receive a copy of The Binge-Watching Cure. Previously published stories are okay, as are simultaneous submissions. There will be a signed contract, of course. The Binge-Watching Cure will be published in 2017.

Please email us your story at bingecurebook@gmail.com and send us your story in DOC, DOCX, RTF, or PDF format, double spaced with human being-readable margins, and in a sensible font such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier.

Include the exact word count, along with your contact information at the top of the manuscript.

Our FAQ has more information on what kind of stories we’re looking for and what kind of stories are not a match for The Binge-Watching Cure.

Please include a brief bio in your cover letter, as well as your contact information in both the manuscript and cover letter. Briefly summarize your story and let us know what genre, if any, your story is. If your story has been published elsewhere, let us know where and when. (Previously published stories are perfectly okay.) Content is more important than format, so don’t sweat things like line breaks. We’ll try to get back to you as soon as we can. Submissions close December 31, 2016, or as soon as the story slots are filled.

Please put your story’s title and word count in your email’s subject line. Please submit only one story at a time and read our FAQ about multiple submissions.

Here’s the important part: We want stories within 15 percent of the following word counts (within 20 percent for stories 10,000 words and longer):

The Binge-Watching Cure will have one story from each of these length categories.

[NOTE: Yes, this is much earlier than I usually post listings, but this book is filling each length slot individually, and only once; according to the site's Submissions page, the 7000 word slot is filled already. If you have a story of a particular length that you want to submit here, send it in now. Normally I wouldn't post this until October, but by that time many if not most (or maybe all) of the slots might be filled already, so I'm giving everyone an early heads-up.]

About Me

My name is Angie and I'm a writer living in Seattle, WA with my husband. I publish science fiction, fantasy and crime stories under Angela Penrose, and romance and erotica under Angela Benedetti. I pretty much live at the computer, either writing or online or both. My schedule is chaotically variable, so I might be awake or asleep at any given moment. It's not all bad; writing at 2am when it's quiet is actually pretty cool.